Mirova and the Global Mechanism join forces to establish the Land Degradation Neutrality Fund

The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), through its operational arm - the Global Mechanism – together with Mirova, an affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers dedicated to responsible investing, have signed an agreement to structure the first global fund dedicated to achieving Land Degradation Neutrality - the LDN Fund. French Caisse des Depôts is supporting the initiative.

The Global Mechanism and Mirova are pleased to announce the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding with the objective of structuring the Land Degradation Neutrality Fund. The LDN Fund aims at creating a new investment territory: land rehabilitation and avoided degradation. The LDN Fund will be launched in December 2016.

Achieving LDN is one of the year 2030 targets (target 15.3) of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). LDN refers to a state whereby the amount of healthy and productive land resources necessary to support ecosystem services in a given community or country, or globally, remains at least stable. In October, the Parties to the UNCCD agreed to set up voluntary national targets to support the realization of the LDN target on a global level.

The concept of an LDN Fund emerged in 2014 following consultations among institutions that were engaged in the identification of sustainable solutions to the challenge of land degradation. The Global Mechanism presented the first concept at the World Investment Forum in Geneva in October 2014.

The fund should provide a coordination platform for blended finance and is expected to be set up as a Public-Private Partnership among institutional investors, impact investors, development finance institutions and donors committed to supporting LDN. It should be structured as a privately managed layered fund intending to generate returns for investors in line with their respective risk/return profiles.

The Global Mechanism and Mirova are joining forces to turn the project into reality.

Text from the joint press release issued by Mirova and the Global Mechanism of the UNCCD in Paris on 3 December 2015.

Related links:

Land Degradation Neutrality Fund Brochure (English) (1 MB)

Land Degradation Neutrality Fund Brochure (French) (1021.15 KB)

Land Degradation Neutrality Fund Brochure (Spanish) (1.13 MB)

Download the Press Release (English) (470.14 KB)

Download the Press Release (French) (397.38 KB)

For more information: 

Simone Quatrini
The Global Mechanism
Tel. +49 228 815 2860
squatrini (at) unccd.int